GENDER INCLUSION IN URBAN CONSUMPTION SPACES Undergraduate Architectural dissertation School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi
Photo credits-Sanjukta Bhasu
Lakshmi B | 2020
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces A study of gender-space relations in urban consumption spaces
____________________________________________________________ DISSERTATION 2020 Lakshmi B (A/2936/2016) 5th year, section A | 2020-21 Department of Architecture | School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
____________________________________________________________ Guide: Ar. Nishant Gautam Coordinator: Ar. Mekhla Parihar Word count: 12,548 December 02, 2020
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
DECLARATION The research work embodied in this dissertation titled “Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces” has been carried out by the undersigned as part of the undergraduate Dissertation programme in the Department of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, under the supervision of Ar. Nishant Gautam. The undersigned hereby declares that this is her original work and has not been plagiarised in part or full form from any source.
______________________________________________________________________
Name: LAKSHMI B. Roll No.: A/2936/2016 Year and Section: Vth year, Section A Date: 02-12-2020
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CERTIFICATE This dissertation, titled “Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces” by Lakshmi B, A/2936/2016, was carried out during the Fifth Year, Ninth Semester (2020) B.Arch. Program in the Department of Architecture, under our guidance during September December 2020. On completion of the report in all aspects and based on the declaration by the candidate above, we provisionally accept this dissertation report and forward the same to the Department of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, India.
______________________________________________________________________
Ar. NISHANT GAUTAM
______________________________________________________________________
Ar. MEKHLA PARIHAR
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported me during the course of this research project. I specially thank my guide Ar. Nishant Gautam for the encouragement and patience throughout the semester. His constant involvement and valuable suggestions are the main reason for the progress of this dissertation. I am grateful to the coordinators Ar. Mekhla Parihar, Prof. Dr. Jaya Kumar, Ar. Prabhjot Singh Sugga and Ar. Arpita Dayal for weekly lectures and discussions. Ar. Tanuj Biyani, professor at School of Planning and Architecture had taken time out of his busy schedule to talk to me and share their insights on the topic. Finally I’d like to thank my family and friends like Revathi M, Harun Vignesh, Vignesh S Pillai, G Sai Manaswini, Amala Babu for bearing with me.
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
ABSTRACT Given the economic and social marginalization of women and gender variants, architects and planners need to develop a holistic understanding of gender to design inclusive spaces as space has a dialectical relationship with social settings. In the contemporary postmodern society, consumption is equated with leisure, and leisure by consumption is associated with women as shopping is seen as a part of domestic labour and the hard work associated with it, and hence, ‘feminine’ and gendered. Hence the central concern of this study is the interrelationship between space and gender, focusing on the everyday lives of women in urban consumption spaces. Presented as a comprehensive research on how women access and use consumption spaces in urban everyday life, it studies how they perceive and relate to the public as the outside world in its most inclusive sense. The research progresses through an extensive literature review followed by analysis of case studies from tier 1 cities of India where qualitative aspects of gender-space relation are analysed. A primary online survey explores the level of inclusivity and spatial accessibility by a gender to understand the spatial attributes which provide for that. The results reiterate women’s restricted spatial accessibility, even in consumption spaces which are equated with women. Although new consumption spaces like shopping malls have provided women with ‘safe’ and ‘civil’ environs, the reproduction of existential gendered realities and social inequalities can be observed there too. Even so, the built-environment can substantially contribute to the degree of gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces.
Keywords: Gender, gender inclusion, public space, urban consumption space
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Table of Contents DECLARATION
2
CERTIFICATE
3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
4
ABSTRACT
5
1. INTRODUCTION
17
1.1. Research questions
18
1.2. Need for study
18
1.3. Aim
18
1.4. Objectives
18
1.5. Scope
19
1.6. Limitations
19
1.7. Research framework
20
1.8. Chapter outline
21
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
24
2.1. Understanding Gender
24
2.1.1. What is gender?
24
2.1.2. Gender roles
25
2.1.3. Feminist movements
25
2.2. Gender and space
27
2.2.1. Social production of space
27
2.2.1.1. Lefebvrian’s ‘spatial illusions’
27
2.2.1.2. Social dimensions of space
27
2.2.2. Manifestation of gender in space
28
2.2.2.1. The public-private dichotomy: Gendered spaces in everyday urban life
28
2.2.2.2. Gender inclusion in urban planning
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2.2.3. Gender-inclusion initiatives 2.3. Gender and consumption 2.3.1. Separation of consumption from production
31 33 33
2.3.1.1. Gender perceptions of consumption
33
2.3.1.2. Gendered consumption and leisure
34
2.3.2. Perception of consumption spaces based on gender
34
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
36
3.1. Selection criteria for case studies
36
3.2. Identification of case studies
36
3.3. Primary survey study
37
3.4. Parameters of study
37
3.5. Framework for analysis
37
4. CASE STUDIES
41
4.1. Consumption spaces, Mumbai, India
42
4.2. Consumption spaces of Delhi, India
43
4.3. Consumption spaces of Kolkata, India
45
5. PRIMARY SURVEY STUDY
46
5.1. Categories of study
46
6. ANALYSIS
47
6.1. Case studies
47
6.1.1. Consumption spaces, Mumbai, India
47
6.1.2. Consumption spaces, Delhi, India
51
6.1.3. Consumption spaces, Kolkata, India
57
6.2. Primary survey study
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6.2.1. Context
61
6.2.2. Accessibility
62
6.2.3. Social influence
62
6.2.4. Dynamics with time
63
6.2.5. Safety
64
6.2.6. Built-environment
66
7. FINDINGS
73
7.1. Case studies
73
7.1.1. Case study- Consumption spaces of Mumbai (2003-2006)
73
7.1.2. Case study- Consumption spaces of Delhi (2007)
75
7.1.3. Case study- Consumption spaces of Kolkata (2017)
76
7.2. Primary survey study
76
7.3. Drawing parallels from studies
78
8. CONCLUSIONS
79
8.1. Spatial accessibility in consumption spaces
79
8.2. Answering the research question: How are gender relations manifest in urban consumption spaces?
79
8.3. Answering the research question: How are spatial relations manifest in the idea of gender?
80
REFERENCES/CITED WORK
83
BIBLIOGRAPHY
86
APPENDIX
89
Appendix 1: Online survey- Gender and shopping spaces (in English)
89
Appendix 2: Online survey- Gender and shopping spaces (in regional language)
94
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List of Figures INTRODUCTION
27
Figure 1. Research framework (Source: Author)
30
Figure 2. Key concepts of research (Source: Author)
31
Figure 3. Literature review framework (Source: Author)
32
CASE STUDIES
51
Figure 4. Mapping at Connaught Place (2007) (JAGORI team, 2007)
54
Figure 5. Mapping at India Gate (2007) (JAGORI team, 2007)
54
ANALYSIS
57
Figure 6. ‘Putting people in place’ map (Ranade, 2007)
57
Figure 7. ‘Tracing people’s path’ map- Typical path by a woman (Ranade, 2007)
58
Figure 8. Activity mapping at India Gate. (JAGORI team, 2007)
61
Figure 8. Activity mapping at Connaught Place. (JAGORI team, 2007)
62
Figure 9. Activity mapping at Nehru Place. (JAGORI team, 2007)
62
Figure 10. Major regions (Source: Author)
71
Figure 11. Mode of transportation - Men (Source: Author)
72
Figure 12. Mode of transportation -Women (Source: Author)
72
Figure 13. Responses for spatial accessibility by specific gender (Source: Author)
74
Figure 14. Average values of influencing factors (Source: Author)
75
Figure 15. Response for Situation 1 (Source: Author)
77
Figure 16. Respondents of option 1 (Source: Author)
77
Figure 17. Respondents of option 2 (Source: Author)
78
Figure 18. Respondents of option 3 (Source: Author)
78
Figure 19. Respondents of option 4 (Source: Author)
79
Figure 20. Response for Situation 2 (Source: Author)
80
Figure 21. Respondents of option 1 (Source: Author)
80
Figure 22. Respondents of option 2 (Source: Author)
81
Figure 23. Respondents of option 3 (Source: Author)
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FINDINGS
83
Figure 25. Factors of inclusion (Base drawing by (Ranade, 2007))
84
Figure 26. Factors of exclusion (Base drawing by (Ranade, 2007))
84
Figure 27.Tracing women’s path- positive factors (Base drawing by (Ranade, 2007))
85
Figure 28.Tracing women’s path- negative factors (Base drawing by (Ranade, 2007))
85
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List of illustrations ANALYSIS
53 Illustration 1. Women engaged in leisurely chat in the shopping malls during the day (Paul, 2017). 66 Illustration 2. Women engaged in leisurely chat in the shopping malls during the day (Paul, 2017). 66 Illustration 3. Leisure in the shopping mall with the family in the evening (Paul, 2017)
66
Illustration 4. Leisure in the shopping mall with the family in the evening (Paul, 2017)
66
Illustration 5. Roadside tea stalls exclusively occupied by men (Paul, 2017) 66 Illustration 6. Option 1 (Source: MATT WICKS / GREATDISTANCES)
73
Illustration 7. Option 2 (Source: Chandradeep Kumar)
74
Illustration 8. Option 3 (Source: Sanjit Das/Bloomberg)
74
Illustration 9. Option 4 (Source: David Gee / Alamy Stock Photo)
75
Illustration 10. Option 1 (Source: Economy Decoded/ED Times)
76
Illustration 11. Option 2 (Source: FoodFunia)
77
Illustration 12. Option 3 (Source: Greg Balfour Evans / Alamy)
77
Illustration 13. Option 4 (Source:Hk Rajashekar/The The India Today Group) 77 CONCLUSIONS
85 Illustration 14. Poorly designed Toilet blocks at Delhi, India (Viswanath et al., 2015). 86 Illustration 15. At night, the dark and deserted spaces are rendered unsafe for an unaccompanied woman (Bhasu, 2017). 87 Illustration 16. Open public park which is occupied by many groups of women, with children (Bhasu, 2017).
88
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List of tables RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
51
Table 1. Criteria of study and possible analysis (Source: Author)
55
CASE STUDIES
56
Table 2. Case studies (Source: Author)
56
PRIMARY SURVEY STUDY
61
Table 3. General information of survey sample (Source: Author)
61
ANALYSIS
62
Table 4. Analysis of Case study- Consumption spaces, Mumbai (Source: Author)
65
Table 5. Analysis of Case study- Consumption spaces, Delhi (Source: Author)
71
Table 6. Analysis of Case study- Consumption spaces, Kolkata (Source: Author)
74
Table 7. Average values of influencing factors- Time of return (Source: Author)
78
Table 8. Analysis situation 1 (Source: Author)
84
Table 9. Analysis situation 2 (Source: Author)
86
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List of abbreviations 1) NCS- New Consumption Space 2) IT- Information Technology 3) OR- Other Retail 4) TS- Tradition Sector
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1.
INTRODUCTION
In the light of shifts in theoretical, historical and critical debates, particularly with respect to feminism, understanding architecture in relation to gender demands an urgent contextualisation. Although the ‘right to the city’ is mediated by existing social inequities of class, religion, race, ethnicity, and caste in the Indian context, above all these equities is a layer of gender inequality (Mahadevia and Lathia, 2019). This study is
presented as comprehensive research exploring how urban consumption spaces are perceived and experienced by women, and the kinds of social relations they produce in terms of gender. A plethora of studies linking women and urban spaces can be found over the past decades since the new wave of feminist thinking in the 1970s, but even so, urban environments continue to be more suited to men and heteronormative families (Ranade, 2007; Weisman, 1999). According to UN Women and ICRW, 95% of women aged
16-49 report feeling unsafe in public spaces of Delhi (“ICRW Survey,” 2013). The
internationalized economy exacerbates the vulnerability of women, who continue to undertake the bulk of unpaid domestic work (Kabeer, 1994). Given the economic and
social marginalization of women and gender variants, architects and planners need to develop a holistic understanding of gender to design inclusive spaces as space has a dialectical relationship with social setting, rather than being a ‘neutral backdrop to social setting’ (Ranade, 2007). Moreover, as socially responsible architects, it is imperative to
design inclusive spaces as it is proven that societal structure is constructed and altered by the behaviours of sections of society, spaces created and their continued use (Mahimkar, 2013). Replacement of the term ‘women's studies’ with ‘gender studies’ in the recent years as ‘Gender’ seems to fit within the scientific terminology of social science and thus dissociates itself from the (supposedly strident) politics of feminism (Borden et al., 1999; Scott, 1986). While there has been much discussion on ‘Gender’ in relation to
planning practice, few researchers have taken into account the non binary gender and gender variant community (Doan, 2010). The lack of resources for the same has limited Page | 14
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the scope of the study to only one oppressed gender, cis-women, and the nature of their perceptions of urban spaces of consumption.
1.1.
Research questions
How are gender relations manifest in urban consumption spaces? How are spatial relations manifest in the idea of gender?
1.2.
Need for study
Public spaces act as a shared resource of communication, connectivity, and foundation for the community it lives among. Gender-inclusive design is required to guarantee public spaces and designs don't depict a space on the basis of one’s gender identity which does not constrain the society's rigid gender roles on individuals. As a diverse and developing nation, acknowledgment of the cutting edge world is difficult when the mentality of the people is still on delay. But as architects, it is our responsibility to follow requirements of our evolving community This research is to define a solid concept of how space can be changed to achieve a balanced and more impartial atmosphere to eliminate gender dominance and the issues confronted by the minority on a day-by-day premise.
1.3.
Aim
The dissertation aims to understand the spatial relations of gender and urban environment to deduce the spatial attributes which influence accessibility and inclusion.
1.4.
Objectives
1. Understand the spatial accessibility by a specific gender. 2. Understand the level of inclusivity in various consumption spaces and the perceptions of these spaces. 3. Critically analyze the usage and experience of urban consumption spaces by different genders. 4. Analyze the factors in an urban consumption space in which women are comfortable in, to understand the spatial attributes which provide for that. Page | 15
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5. To examine the extent of cultural, regional and socio-economic influences of a city on its gender-space relations.
1.5.
Scope
The scope of the study is restricted to urban consumption spaces in India's Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. Within the public spaces of consumption, only the typologies of shopping malls and informal shopping streets will be studied. Target audience of the study are the users of urban consumption spaces from all genders, but the study will primarily focus on the usage and experience of cis-women, from ages 12-60 years old.
1.6.
Limitations
1. The dissertation is limited to the experiences of binary genders due to the lack of literature and studies on non-binary gender variants with respect to gender-space relationships of urban consumption spaces. 2. Since the onset of the global pandemic has imposed restrictions on movement and accessibility, it would be beyond the scope of the study to conduct extensive site studies, activity mappings, participant observation, interact with real-time users of the shopping malls/market streets. Hence these shall be studied through analysis of case studies and primary study will rely majorly on online surveys. 3. It studies only one typology, consumption spaces, within urban built-environment in only a few cities of the country. Hence it is not a comprehensive study on Indian urban spaces.
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1.7.
Research framework
The dissertation follows a linear framework starting with literature review divided into three parts, an introduction to Gender, Space, and Consumption, to understand the key concepts and interrelations between them. This helped to formulate research questions by establishing the gaps between existing information and current study. Defining aim, objectives, research scope and limitations with literature review helped in criteria for selecting case studies. The structure of case studies were identified and is to be critically analyzed to define the primary study framework for collecting empirical data through both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Figure 1. Research framework (Source: Author)
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1.8.
Chapter outline
Figure 2. Key concepts of research (Source: Author)
Chapter 1: Introduction is an introductory section which clearly defines the aim,
objectives, scope, limitations, research questions, need of the study, and research framework of the dissertation.
Chapter 2: Literature review has been divided into three part which discusses
gender, space and consumption. ‘Gender’ discusses the key concepts of gender, firstly by defining the idea of gender, social attributes of gender and the distinction from biological sex, and later exploring the evolution of gender roles and the prevalent condition of society. ‘Gender and space’ explores manifestation of gender roles and relations in space by through Lefebvrian concepts of social spaces, early feminist literature on the interrelations of gender and space. With a brief on the theoretical and daily experience of urban planning, the second half of this section studies the macro level studies of land by gender sensitive planning to explain how gender biases have been integrated into the urban sphere. ‘Gender and consumption defines the concept of consumption and leisure, and how these very acts are gendered. The act of consumption itself is seen as ‘feminine’ and gendered. The evolution of gender Page | 18
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perception of consumption and perception of consumption as leisure as a result of capitalism has been discussed in this chapter.
Figure 3. Literature review framework (Source: Author)
Chapter 3: Research methodology Identification of case studies, study
parameters for primary study from the same and framework for analysis have been mentioned in this chapter. Chapter 4: Case studies introduces three case studies based in Mumbai, Delhi
and Kolkata.
Chapter 5: Primary survey study introduces the primary online survey study
conducted by the author.
Chapter 6: Analysis attempts to understand the different spatial perceptions and
specific needs of women while traversing through the urban consumption spaces of the city through three case studies and primary survey. Chapter 6: Findings The key findings from the analysis of case studies and
survey study has been mentioned in this chapter.
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Chapter 7: Conclusions The author discusses the key points from the research
and answers the research question from the data collected and analysed from literature review, case studies and survey study.
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2.
LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1.
Understanding Gender 2.1.1.
What is gender?
According to the American Psychological Association: In a human context, the distinction between ‘gender’ and ‘sex’ reflects the usage of these terms: ‘Sex’ usually refers to the biological aspects of maleness or femaleness, whereas ‘gender’ implies the psychological, behavioral, social, and cultural aspects of being male or female (i.e., masculinity or femininity) (VandenBos, 2015, p. 450)
Gender is a social construct which cannot be used interchangeably with the biological term ‘sex’ (Butler, 2006; Ranade, 2007; Rendell, 1999; Scott, 1986b;
VandenBos, 2015). Sex is the biological traits that societies use to assign people into the category of either male or female, whether it be through a focus on chromosomes, genitalia or some other physical ascription, while gender is more fluid, biological characteristics may or may not rely on it (“Sociology of Gender,” 2014). More precisely,
it is a definition that explains how communities define and handle categories of sex; the cultural meanings associated with the roles of men and women; and how people perceive their identities, including, but not limited to, being a male, woman, transgender , intersex, queer gender and other positions of gender (Beauvoir, 1949). The word
denoted a denial of biological determinism, which is implied in the use of terms as ‘sex’ or ‘sexual differences’ (Scott, 1986a). In Chapter 3, Subversive Bodily Acts, of Gender Trouble, Judith Butler (2006)
challenges the ideas of the way society views sex, gender, and sexuality by stating
‘various ideas of gender create the idea of gender’, and without those acts there would be no gender at all. Rather than the manifestation of an unchanging and cohesive essence, Butler believes that gender identity is unfixed, provisional, and delicate, rather than the expression of an unchanging and coherent nature:
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Gender ought not to be construed as a stable identity or locus of agency from which various acts follow; rather, gender is an identity tenuously constituted in time, instituted in an exterior space through a stylized repetition of acts. (Butler, 2006, p. 179)
Nonetheless, gender variance exists throughout the human and natural world and has real consequences for people in their daily lives (Doan, 2010). Being socially constructed does not diminish the power of the concept (Beauvoir, 1949). 2.1.2.
Gender roles
According to Gender in World History (2000a) and Modern Gender Roles and
Agricultural History: The Neolithic Inheritance (2015a), gender inequality was less
prevalent in the prehistoric society even though the division of ‘men hunted and women gathered fruits’ existed. In this primitive division of labour, the two sexes already constitute two classes in a way; but there is equality between these classes as women’s domestic work was seen as productive (Beauvoir, 1949; Hansen et al., 2015a; Stearns,
2000a). When agriculture was introduced around 10,000 BCE, the nomadic human
society, the hunters and gatherers slowly shifted to a sedentary lifestyle. By the fourth millennium BCE, in a patriarchal structure, with husbands and fathers dominant, most agricultural communities had developed new patterns of discrimination between men and women. The higher fertility rates due to a reliant source of food, secondary processing of crops, and tedious physical labour mainly dependent on men etc. paved the way for patriarchal civilizations (Hansen et al., 2015; Stearns, 2000). 2.1.3.
Feminist movements
Even though they claim to offer 'multicultural' or 'world' viewpoints on women's studies, readers of feminist theory are still influenced by Western debates and taxonomies (Ghosh, 2005). In India the feminist movement has affected both activism and scholarship in several fields such as health, literature, law, art, theatre and human development (Desai, 2007). Pande in The History of Feminism and Doing Gender in
India (2018) gives a history of feminism in the Indian context. The rise of feminism and the women’s movement can be seen in two distinct phases, the pre-independence era
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and the post-independence era. We can divide the women’s movement into three phases: 1. First Phase (1850-1915) 2. Second Phase (1915-1947) 3. Third Phase (1947-Present) First Phase (1850-1915) of feminism which began as a social reform movement in the 19th century primarily concerned with gaining equal rights for women, particularly the rights to suffrage. The second wave of feminism saw political and cultural inequality as intrinsically tied. During this period struggle against colonial rule intensified. This was perhaps the first time in Indian history that a significant number of women were organized in a mass organization for political purposes. It was largely due to women's sacrifices and their role in the fight for independence that women in India had the right to vote and full equality in the constitution (Pande, 2018; INDIA, 1949). Article 15 states that ‘The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, sex, place of birth or any of them’ and Article 15(3) states that, ‘Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children’ (INDIA, 1949). Family arrangements, domestic institutions and lifestyles have all begun to evolve and all this has impacted women: a drop in the number of girls, the gradual acceptance of women's roles outside the home, the rise of nuclear families, all of which have begun to make a difference. Education has fueled women's desire to change their conditions, enter the mainstream and gain recognition. But these were not widespread changes. By and large, women continued to be seen as caretakers of children (Desai, 2007).
Industrialization, technological transition, illiteracy, lack of mobility, lack of
representation and acknowledgement of position in ‘productive’ labour market, secondary position in the family, all of which contributed to oppression of women in post-independent India (Pande, 2018).
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2.2.
Gender and space 2.2.1.
Social production of space
2.2.1.1.
Lefebvrian’s ‘spatial illusions’
According to French Marxist philosopher Lefebvre (1991), the concept of space can be said to operate under two ‘illusions’:
1. ‘Illusion of transparency’: where space is viewed as being innocent and completely transparent to human comprehension. 2. ‘Realistic illusion’: where space is accorded a reality that is purely defined by its materiality - what is seen is what it is. Because of these illusions, space is either seen as a neutral passive background for social life, or as a reflection of society. In the latter, although space is stratified, space has a one-way relationship with a relatively stable society. But, space is never neutral but always ‘discursively constructed’, ‘ideologically marked’, and ‘shaped by the dominant power structures and forms of knowledge’ (Wrede, 2015). Which implies,
when the user publicly articulates the social relationships of a certain time and place, the space in which the articulation occurs becomes the site of cultural imprint. 2.2.1.2.
Social dimensions of space
Social, political and economic forces and values shape the built environment and its form as space is socially built and its appropriation is a political act, gender, race and class ties are expressed and reinforced by spatial properties (Desai, 2007). According to Lefebvre (1991), space can be perceived as consisting of three dimensions:
‘Perceived space’, ‘Representations of space’, and ‘Representational spaces’. The observable, material, and measurable, ‘Perceived space’ describes a society’s patterns of ‘spatial practice’ as they are linked. ‘Representations of Spaces’, also known as conceived space is the conceptualized space, or the physical form of the space. The ‘Representational Spaces’, these spaces are lived spaces, space of users and inhabitants.
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2.2.2.
Manifestation of gender in space
Human purpose and action from which we can derive the priorities and beliefs of the decision-makers in our society, forms the built environment. Both the process by which we build and the forms themselves reflect cultural ideals and suggest behavioural norms that influence us all (Weisman, 1999). These aspects of spaces can be used to understand the production of space which lacks women's presence in them.
In Theorizing Space and Gender in the 21st Century, Wrede observes that both
gender and space, as social constructs, not only share common traits but are also used to reinforce each other (2015). The types of spaces to which we have, do not have or are refused access will inspire us or make us powerless. The built environment is largely the creation of white, masculine subjectivity and is neither value-free nor inclusively human (Weisman, 1999). In addition to facing multiple obstacles in daily life, urban women face India's obstinacy and inequality (Mahimkar and Gokhale, 2015). Not only physical planning but
also inculcating gender sensitivity and awareness in the citizens can address this issue. 2.2.2.1.
The public-private dichotomy: Gendered spaces in everyday urban life
Since the public-private divisions are also inherently gendered, they are of particular importance for understanding the women’s experience of urban everyday public spaces (Desai, 2007; Weisman, 1999). Women’s usage and experience of urban spaces occurs at different levels as women associate with the city at different levels. Each level reflects various activities and functions in urban daily life, comprising distinct social and spatial characteristics. The symbolic form and social dynamics present in spaces may also vary since the built environment is closely intertwined with society (Desai, 2007). More
significantly, the various spatial scales and social relations they contain contribute to distinct degrees of publicness and privateness; and the divisions between the public and private spheres are at the centre of urban daily life organisation (McDowell, 1983).
These divisions are constructed not only spatially, but across the entire variety of
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places, people, activities and relationships that constitute public and private dimensions of urban everyday life (Tuncer, 2014). Each urban public space (categorized into home, neighbourhood, city) involves different levels and forms of publicness and privateness in everyday life, and can be arranged in a spectrum (Tuncer, 2014). In broader terms, the home can be defined as a private space, separated and protected from the outside world. The neighborhood can be considered as a space that is both semi-public and semi/private. It is, in a sense, mediating between the home and the city. With a certain degree of familiarity, the neighborhood represents familial or communal practices and interpersonal relations. As the last category, the city serves as a space for public and impersonal relations, and is used for a range of activities and functions, such as leisure, entertainment, shopping and meeting. In the use of the built environment, women face direct and indirect restrictions in terms of availability and access to space. Though space may be physically available and may not have distinct barriers for women, it is still not socially or psychologically available to them (Desai, 2007). 2.2.2.2.
Gender inclusion in urban planning
Public spaces should be truly ‘public’; they must be accessible to everyone throughout the day. Translated into public space terms, this means that the right of every citizen—across class, caste, gender, religion, and sexual orientation must be protected. The city can only belong to the women, when it belongs to everyone (Phadke, 2007). The feminist waves in Western society, from the early 20th century onward, and the drastic changes in women’s work and home roles have spurred a massive, extensive studies on gender, and various domains associated, which extended to architecture and planning also (Borden et al., 1999). Despite the spate of research on women and urban environment, theory in planning remains the most male dominated
and least influenced by any awareness of the importance of gender (Sandercock and Forsyth, 1992). A Gender Agenda studies gender in planning theory, while Gender,
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urban space, and the right to everyday life explores urban planning through a practical approach, it explores gendered mediation of space in everyday life.
A Gender Agenda gives an introduction to the key concepts of feminist
methodology of research, planning theory, feminist theory, and the application of feminist theory on planning theory in arenas of (i)spatial, economic, social relationships, (ii)language and communication, (iii)epistemology and methodology, (iv)ethics, (v)nature of public domain, and gender sensitive theory on urban planning research (Sandercock and Forsyth, 1992). Gender, urban space, and the right to everyday life
focuses on everyday life to understand the gendered mediation of space. In order to explain the gendered mediation of space, gender, urban space and the right to normal life are based on daily life. The study suggests that a broader variety of urban environments are deserving of consideration, and daily spaces are often ignored when debating gender inclusion (Beebeejaun, 2017). The above studies give theory and praxis of gender in urban spaces with its roots in feminist theory. Both the studies narrow down the feminist political struggles associated with urban planning into three components. According to Gender, urban
space, and the right to everyday life, the reasons for women’s unequal position in society are rooted in:
Firstly, there is women’s economic inequality in the labor market, along with the continuing burden of unpaid labor disproportionately falling on women; secondly there is women’s underrepresentation across a range of political and leadership roles; and thirdly, there is the persistence of widespread violence against women. (Beebeejaun, 2017, p. 323)
The solutions for the same points are discussed by Sandercock and Forsyth (1992), (i)women’s participation in public domain and spaces, (ii)create and protect public space for women, (iii)redefining nature and extent of public domain. However, both the studies reinforced cisnormativity by failing to mention other non-binary groups oppressed by gender. The tyranny of gendered spaces – reflections Page | 27
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
from beyond the gender dichotomy is an autoethnographic study of gendered division of spaces centered on gender variants. The autoethnographic methodology of the paper
challenges the norm of objectivity that assumes that the subject and object of research can be separated and that personal experiences are unscientific, and thereby follows a basic principle of feminist methodology (Butler, 2006; VandenBos, 2015). According to
Doan (2010), the tyranny of gender operates in public spaces because people are
empowered to act as heteronormatively structured gender enforcers in public spaces. The meaning of these implications is discussed by the author's living experience of this tyranny across a spectrum of public to private environments, including: parking lots, public bathrooms, shopping centres, the office and the home. Her personal experiences of harassment in public transport, elevators draw attention to the vulnerability of congested public spaces, in contrast to the known insecurity of isolated spaces. This suggests the severity of ubiquitous nature of the heteronormative gender tyranny. Yet, the number of studies done on spatial relations and non-binary gender is very limited (Doan, 2010). 2.2.3.
Gender-inclusion initiatives
● UN SDG goals - Goal 5(gender equality), Goal 11(sustainable cities): Goal number 11 of UN SDG aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. In goal 11, different targets aim to achieve adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems to all, sustainable urbanization, sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning, and, to support least developed countries in building sustainable and resilient buildings (UNITED NATIONS, 2016). UN SDG Target 5 seeks to achieve gender inequality and encourage all women and girls through the provision of public facilities, infrastructure and social security
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
policies to consider and respect unpaid care and domestic labour (UNITED NATIONS,
2016).
● Some of the initiatives in India for gender-inclusive planning, 1. UNICEF, UN-Habitat and UN Women in 2011 launched ‘Safe and Friendly Cities for All,’ in few Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram; a five year program that aims at making women and children feel safer in their local neighbourhoods, while improving their quality of life (“UN Launches Initiative to Make Cities Safer for Women and Children,” 2011).
2. JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) dealing with reform and good governance suggests guidelines for gender mainstreaming into planning and decision making process, transportation and crime prevention through environmental design. Urban development focused on gender is about promoting cities which respond to men and women equally. Nevertheless, because women experience cities differently, addressing the needs of women is key to fostering sustainable/equitable urban growth. Women's interests have conventionally been under-represented in politics and projected growth in patriarchal economies such as India. In building inclusive communities, improving the role and involvement of women in urban government is crucial and will be a key indicator of JNNURM 's progress. (Mahimkar and Gokhale, 2015)
3. To attain equitable development, Indian government has initiated various policies for economic and political development with the aim of inclusion of women in the development process as per the 11th Five year Plan of 2007-12. 11th Five year Plan of 2007-12 created mechanisms for safe and sensitive support services, shelter homes for women and girls; free legal aid cells counselling centres, and trauma units for victims and survivors of violence, in collaboration with NGOs in every district and many other actions supporting gender inclusiveness in planning, was implemented (Government of India, 2007).
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
2.3.
Gender and consumption 2.3.1.
Separation of consumption from production
How do these economists who formulated the contemporary definitions of the terms define consumption? It is ‘consumption proper’ when nothing of value is created in a process and ‘productive consumption’ if something of value is created while some value is used, devoured, destroyed (Sandercock and Forsyth, 1992). Was consumption of food at home, at that point, a productive demonstration? According to Marx, in capitalism such consumption would not be accounted as production because exchange-value for labor-power entered the capital equation merely as a cost and therefore the capitalist could not afford any surplus value to the realization and production of wealth (Marx and Nicolaus, 1973). While we have consistently consumed since the beginning of time, the idea of consumption isolated from production is rooted in separations: separation of home from the working environment, separation of time for (work) from time for leisure, separation of the public from the private. The distinction of consumption from output in concept arrived with these separations. Progressively, acts at home, leisure, in the private space came to be viewed as considered consumptive and production was done in the public area, office, workplace. (Flrat, 1991). 2.3.1.1.
Gender perceptions of consumption
In societies which later formed the western civilizations women came to primarily occupy the private domain and men the public domain (Flrat, 1991). As explained in
earlier section, Sex identified biological features, but in short, gender gave them their definitions, positions and status, their society. Feminine (female) was the consumer, in the home, the private domain. The producer, in the workplace, the offices, the political realm, the public sphere, was masculine (male). Given this mentality, masculine activities in the public domain were worthwhile, therefore, meriting payment. Feminine activity at home did not contribute to national income, therefore, did not merit to be paid. A paradoxical circumstance in the private domain was that while women were praised for undertaking their important social tasks of childrearing and taking care of Page | 30
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
men, they were belittled for being such consumers. Consuming, after all, was valueless; a profane and banal act (Flrat, 1991). Another explanation comes from the concept that if women influence financial decisions, households would be more secure is based on data from several different contexts, showing that women invest more carefully than men, spend more on household security and less on personal products (Raju and Lahiri-Dutt, 2012). The whole family is more likely to benefit from credit targeted at women, compared with credit targeted at men (Kabeer, 1998; Khandker, 1998; Nations, 1995; Raju and
Lahiri-Dutt, 2012). Kelkar (2005) explained the reason behind this trend in the following words:
Perhaps because of women’s gender responsibility of provisioning the household (acquiring and processing food) women tend to spend more of the income they control for household consumption goods. This is in contrast to the behaviour of men who tend to spend more of the income they control, on themselves, alcohol, entertainment, etc, and consequently neglect the consumption needs of children and others in the household. (Kelkar, 2005, p. 4695)
2.3.1.2.
Gendered consumption and leisure
In the contemporary postmodern society, consumption is equated with leisure, and leisure by consumption is associated with women as shopping is seen as a part of domestic labour and the hard work associated with it, and hence, ‘feminine’ and gendered (2017). Leisure spaces act as ‘third spaces’ between home and work, where women interact for sociability and are free to stroll around in public (Paul, 2017). The
pertaining to the male domination of public leisure space, differences among women in relation to their access to leisure, and control of public leisure space has been discussed in Mapping gendered spatialities in leisure. 2.3.2.
Perception of consumption spaces based on gender
Within the public spaces of consumption in a city, ‘urban consumption spaces’ in the scope of the study shall consist of shopping malls and retail shops in informal shopping streets. Page | 31
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
Consumption lies at the ideological core of the contemporary city, central in the economy, politics and culture (Marskamp, 2012; Miles, 2010). It bridges the communal
and the individual, and the city represents the foremost visible and uncovering
expression of this process. In the contemporary postmodern society, consumption is equated with leisure, and leisure by consumption is associated with women as shopping is seen as a part of domestic labour and the hard work associated with it, and hence, ‘feminine’ and gendered (Paul, 2017).
‘A department store, which is an interiorized public street transformed into a
private space’, becomes an acceptable space for women to enter alone (Paul, 2017). This perhaps clarifies why the regular gendered limitations to practicing leisure proceed to apply. One key observation by Paul: Women’s access to leisure even within NCSs continues to be linked to factors sustaining gender inequalities in society such as domestic work, reproductive and care roles, the engendered labour market, gender relations in the household, and public/private and unsafe/safe dichotomies (2017).
Modern consumption spaces appeal to ‘feminine’ sensibilities, and provide ‘safe’ hang out locations for women and in this way, the public life is contained in private spaces. But, accessibility to the modern consumption spaces, which offer a safe environment compared to crowded markets, are limited by the dependence on purchasing power and socio-economic backgrounds.
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
3.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1.
Selection criteria for case studies
Through the initial literature review and examples of studies, it was found that qualitative aspects of space can be studied better with participant observations, activity mapping, on-site interviews with users, substantial emphasis has been given on the identification and analysis of case studies. Case studies which have mapped the above mentioned aspects in relation to gender were selected based on the following criteria, ● Location- Consumption spaces of Tier 1 cities of India ● Time period of study- To analyze (any possible) differences and similarities in patterns of usage, studies conducted in different time periods from early 2000s to present shall be selected. ● Data collection method(s)a. Mapping of details of built-environment, other users of space, dynamics of space with time, any other influences using drawings. b. Photo documentation c. Survey method ● Both usage and experience by different genders should be clearly marked. ● Sample size- Minimum 50 women. Majority or all of the respondents/subjects of study should be women.
3.2.
Identification of case studies 4.2.1. Gender and Space project by PUKAR- study of public spaces of Mumbai, India (2003) 4.2.2. Safety audits by Jagori- study of public spaces of Delhi, India (2007) 4.2.3. Safety audits by Jagori- study of public spaces of Delhi, India (2013) 4.2.4. Mapping gendered spatialities in leisure- study of new urban consumption spaces of Kolkata, India by Tanusree Paul (2017)
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
3.3.
Primary survey study
The primary study is based on an online survey to understand the spatial accessibility by a specific gender, level of inclusion of urban consumption spaces and spatial attributes which provides for that.
3.4.
Parameters of study
Parameters for the study and criteria for analysis was arrived at through literature review and preliminary analysis of case studies. It has been divided into, 1. User background 2. Context 3. Accessibility 4. Dynamics with time 5. Social influence 6. Safety 7. Built-environment- Walkability, Openness, Visibility, Lighting, Physical infrastructure, Common amenities
3.5.
Framework for analysis
Criteria of study User background
Questions Age Marital status No. of children Gender of children Average amount spent on consumption
Possible analysis How user background affects the usage, perception and experience of urban consumption spaces Socio-economic conditions as a differentiating factor
Average leisure hours/day
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Context
Location of city/town
Regional and cultural influence, if any
Type of consumption space
Comparative analysis of different typologies
within the city/town Accessibility
Mode of transportation to consumption space
Analyze gendered constraints on mobility, if any
Usage hours and timings of public transport Avoidance of certain spaces primarily because of one’s gender- travel options Dynamics of time
Social influence
Usage hours and timings of public transport
Analyze participation by different gender with dynamics of time;
Usage hours and social constraints
Spatial accessibility of consumption spaces by each gender
Location of city/town
Regional and cultural influence, if any
Usage hours and social constraints
Spatial accessibility of consumption spaces by each gender
Avoidance of certain spaces due to social constraints No., gender and relation to accompanier(s) Judgements towards outfit/actions
Social perception of women as legitimate users of public space;
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
Usage and experience due to presence/absence of one’s gender Usage and experience due to the no. of other users of space
Study the extent of influence of other users of space on usage and experience of urban consumption spaces by each gender
Usage and experience due to the gender of other users of space
Safety
Judgements towards outfit/actions
Social perception of women as legitimate users of public space;
Usage and experience due to the no. of other users of space
Perceived safety of consumption spaces by each gender;
Usage and experience due to the gender of other users of space
Perceived safety for women in consumption spaces by each gender;
Influence of perceived safety on Avoidance of certain spaces due the usage and experience of to one’s gender- lack of people urban consumption spaces by from same gender each gender Usage and experience due to perception of safety Perception of safety for women Experience of harassment Avoidance of certain spaces due to one’s gender- lighting Built-environme nt
Usage/Avoidance of spacesamenities like washrooms, ATMs, etc.
Experienced safety of consumption spaces by each gender
Analysis of the influence of built environment on the usage and experience of urban consumption spaces by each gender; Page | 36
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
Avoidance of certain spaces due To replace participant to one’s gender- lighting observation and on-site activity mapping Visibility of space Type of consumption space within the city/town Usage/Avoidance of certain spaces due to one’s genderhygiene Usage of consumptions spaceOverall ambience/atmosphere Table 1. Criteria of study and possible analysis (Source: Author)
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
4.
CASE STUDIES Gender and Space project by PUKAR
Safety audits by Jagori
Mapping gendered spatialities in leisure
Location
Mumbai, India
Delhi, India
Kolkata, India
Year
2003
2007
2017
Source
PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action and Research), an independent research collective, and urban knowledge production center
Jagori- a women's training, communication and research center
Independent research by Tanusree Paul
Data collection method
Primary survey
Mapping of details of built-environment, activities of other users of space, dynamics of space with time, any other influences using drawings.
Primary survey,
Context
Context
Accessibility
NA
NA
Dynamics of time
Dynamics of time
Social influence
Social influence
Social influence
Safety
Safety
Safety
Built- environment
Built- environment
Built- environment
Categories Context of study NA
Activity mapping through photo documentation
Table 2. Case studies (Source: Author)
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
4.1.
Consumption spaces, Mumbai, India
● Location- Public spaces of Mumbai, India ● Year of study- 2003-2006 ● Method of data collection- Mapping of activities and physical details through drawings ● Source- Gender and Space project by PUKAR ● Sample size- 86 (11 men, 75 women) In order to analyse the order and experience of the city and its diverse spaces, particularly public spaces, PUKAR focused on gender as a category. The project discussed problems relating to gendered spaces with regard to the state, the market, cultural standards and activities and, ultimately, with regard to the aesthetics of the architecture of urban public spaces and the visions of urban planners for urban structures. At a macro stage, this was a reaction to the ways in which various ideologies, cultural practices and narratives imagine and create public spaces. Four public spaces in Mumbai were mapped with subtle features of the environment, detailed land use patterns, informal structures, amenities, street furniture, trees, light posts, transportation hubs to document the dynamics of space. Gender and Space project primarily uses two methods to study the patterns of inhabitation of space,
(i) ‘Putting people in place’ which maps the location and number of people, (ii) ‘Tracing peoples paths’ which maps the patterns of movement in space.
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
4.2.
Consumption spaces of Delhi, India
● Location- India Gate, Nehru Place, Connaught Place ● Year of study- 2007 ● Method of data collection- Participant observation, Mapping of details as drawings ● Source- Jagori, Delhi ● Sample size- 500 women In order to understand the gendered nature of access to public spaces and its effect on women’s mobility, Jagori conducted over 30 “safety audits” around the city. These audits, along with the findings from a survey of 500 women across the city and several group discussions, provide the data which this paper uses to explore the ways in which public spaces are viewed and accessed by men and women. As a first step, safety audits aimed at identifying factors that cause safety and unsafety for women were conducted in different parts of the city. The following were mapped in the areas of Nehru Place, Connaught Place and India Gate, 1. Physical infrastructure or the built environment – streetlights, the state of pavements, bus stops, how tall the trees are, whether they cover the streetlights, the maintenance of parks, dark/abandoned buildings or areas, the state of car parking areas. 2. Location of amenities- police booths, public telephones, shops and other vendors. In the case of shops, we also noted the kind of shops as certain shops such as auto parts or liquor have primarily male customers. 3. Spatial accessibility according to gender. 4. Women users’ perceptions of safety.
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
Figure 4. Mapping at Connaught Place (2007) (JAGORI team, 2007)
Figure 5. Mapping at India Gate (2007) (JAGORI team, 2007)
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
4.3.
Consumption spaces of Kolkata, India
● Location- New Consumption Spaces of Kolkata, India ● Year of study- 2017 ● Method of data collection- Primary survey, participant observation, photography documentation ● Source- Mapping gendered spatialities in leisure: the case of new consumption spaces in the city of Kolkata by Tanusree Paul ● Sample size- 270 women, 100 men The study follows a mixed method of study with participant observation in a variety of shopping malls, departmental stores, and coffee and tea shops, and a primary survey to understand their experiences and perceptions of the new urban consumption spaces (NCS) of Kolkata. to understand the spatial attributes of the new urban consumption spaces (NCS) which gives a perceived safety to women. Respondents of survey: From Information Technology (IT) sector- About 100 women, 30 men. From Other Retail (OR) sector- About 100 women, 30 men. From traditional sectors (TS) sector- About 70 women, 30 men. Total sample size-370 Although the sample thus drawn is not a representative one, it does offer valuable insight into perceptions of leisure and consumption spaces.
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5.
PRIMARY SURVEY STUDY
Since the onset of the global pandemic has imposed restrictions on movement and accessibility, it would be beyond the scope of the study to conduct extensive site studies, activity mappings, participant observation, interact with real-time users of the shopping malls/market streets. Hence, a primary study was conducted based on an online survey to provide for similar data on usage and experience of urban consumption spaces. Respondents have been identified by referral from friends of theirs who are known to the author, and then by snowballing from one referral to another. Although the sample thus drawn is not a representative one, it does offer valuable insight into perceptions and leisure behaviour. Type of respondent Unmarried men
Nos.
(%)
39
29.10%
9
6.72%
Total men
48
35.82%
Unmarried women
59
44.03%
Married women
27
20.15%
Total women
86
64.18%
0
0.00%
Married men
Non-binary/Gender variants Total sample size
134
Table 3. General information of survey sample (Source: Author)
The questionnaires for Online survey in English and Online survey in regional language are attached under Annexure.
5.1.
Categories of study
The categories of the study are: User background, Context, Accessibility, Social influence, Dynamics with time, Safety, Built-environment.
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
6.
ANALYSIS 6.1.
Case studies 6.1.1.
Consumption spaces, Mumbai, India
In a drawing showing a mixed use urban street (residences, shopping, restaurant, park, industries) participants of the survey were asked to mark, 1. the possible position of women and men in that space 2. the path they would take from point A to B considering all the built-unbuilt factors The image below shows the most likely positions and activities of users of space at about 6.30-7.00 PM on a pleasant spring weekday
Figure 6. ‘Putting people in place’ map (Ranade, 2007)
The image below shows the typical response to ‘path taken by women to traverse from Page | 44
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
point A to B on a weekday evening’.
Figure 7. ‘Tracing people’s path’ map- Typical path by a woman (Ranade, 2007)
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
Category of study
Analysis
User background
Areas of study are not starkly contrasting in socio-cultural composition.
Context
A typical mixed use urban street with residences, retail, public park, industry.
Accessibility
Transport hubs
When asked to separately locate a woman and a man in their mid-20s, waiting to meet a friend, in most of the cases, the woman is located on the bus-stop; the man on the other hand most often is either standing at the street corner or in the tea-shop.
Parking for private vehicles
No proper provisions for parking;
Social influence
Other users of space
Safety
Other users of space
Builtenvironment
Trucks, and cars parked on the road reduced the walkability of the space. Men were located sitting and hanging out on low walls adjoining the playground, standing near the paan shops, newspaper stands or just sitting around in the middle of the playground. Women tend to consistently avoid these male-dominated spaces esp. next to lottery shops and paan shops (Figure. 7).
Perception of safety
More women were located near hawkers and informal vendors.
Lighting
NA
Visibility
Visibility of the street was enhanced by residences in between the commercial area. Visibility of the street was enhanced by hawkers and informal vendors.
Openness
Women chose the route next to the edge of the park, but not the space between parked trucks and dead, high wall adjacent to the factory.
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
Walkability
Broken footpath, trucks and cars parked on the road reduced the walkability of the space.
Physical Typically, women chose to cross the road to avoid the infrastructure paan shop. Amenities
Women were found to choose routes which have essentials like grocery shops, chemists etc. in comparison to wine shops, paan shops and lottery shops. No available data on other amenities.
Landscape
Periphery of the park was dominated by men resting in groups. Women were found next to the vendors in the park.
Table 4. Analysis of Case study- Consumption spaces, Mumbai (Source: Author)
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
6.1.2.
Consumption spaces, Delhi, India
For analysing the gender-space relations, the survey studied the state of the built environment, such as the location and condition of streetlights, the state of pavements, bus stops, the availability and condition of public toilets, the maintenance of parks, obstructions caused by overgrown trees and bushes, the presence of empty lots and waste dumps, abandoned or demolished buildings, dark lanes and the location and condition of car parking areas and common spaces. The location of amenities-police booths, public telephones, shops and other vendors. The predominant users of space and their perceptions of safety and patterns of usage of the space was also noted.
Figure 8. Activity mapping at India Gate. (JAGORI team, 2007)
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
Figure 8. Activity mapping at Connaught Place. (JAGORI team, 2007)
Figure 9. Activity mapping at Nehru Place. (JAGORI team, 2007)
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
Comparative analysis of India Gate, Connaught place and Nehru Place: Category of study
India Gate
Connaught place
Nehru Place
Several approaches to Parliament Street, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Connaught PlaceJanpath, Chelmsford Road, Panchkuian Road, Barakhamba Road, Minto Road, and Kasturba Gandhi Marg.
Busy commercial complex, with a large number of multistoried buildings with offices, informal commercial activities.
Context
Location within the city
High security zone because of its proximity to Rashtrapati Bhawan/other important buildings
Accessibility
Transport hubs
Auto-stand, bus stops in walking distance;
Parking for private vehicles
Parking options provided
There are crowded bus stops with heavy traffic on the Autos, taxi stands, Outer Ring Road and on Lala and subway are Lajpat Rai Path; available in walking distance (radial roads and along the outer circle).
Compounded in underground car parks;
Surrounded by paid parking areas; 2 to 3 attendants in all car parks; Compounded in underground car parks; Men drinking alcohol in cars; Ramp leading to parking dimly lit.
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Dynamics of time
Usage hours
Social influence
Usage hours and social constraints
Women are seen mostly with family/male members after dark.
After 8 p m, all women were either accompanied by a man or were in a group.
Being a commercial area, the area is crowded during the day and relatively deserted early in the mornings and late in the evenings Hardly came across women, especially on their own, after late evening.
No. and gender of accompani er(s) Other users of space
Street vendors, family, other women
Women tend to avoid spaces within park where men are lying/sleeping
Safety
Other users of space
Street vendors, family, other women
More women were present in comparison to other markets (Nehru place).
Vendors and service-providers such as cobbler;
Few homeless men
Men drinking alcohol in cars.
Hardly came across women in the office areas, especially on their own, after late evening.
Tea and food stall run by women.
Hardly came across women, especially on their own, after late evening.
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Perception of safety
Closest Police Police patrol area, Presence of Station is on Baba police personnels Kharak Singh Marg, in walking distance.
Interaction with women confirmed the perceived safety level
Builtenvironment
Lighting
Visibility Openness
Well-lit, pedestrian zone with large parks (including a children's park) on either side of Rajpath provides visual connectivity and improves the perceived safety of the space.
The Nehru Place Police Station is across the road from the main commercial complex.
Guards are present at all entrances of Palika bazar.
Men drinking alcohol in cars.
Large numbers of vendors in the subway.
Shops in the subway remain open as long as the subway is open.
Area lit by lights from shops and lamps of vendors
Yes
Compounded in underground car parks;
Well lit underground market. Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not in case of Palika bazarunderground market Walkability
Yes
Mostly pedestrianized; Some sections of Page | 52
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
the pavement are broken. Physical infrastructu re
Benches, proper pedestrian pathways
Dark entrance and Some sections of the pavement is exit points at broken some subways
Amenities
Police patrol area, Mobile phone booths.
Public toilets, Mobile phone booths, ATMs
Dhabas and food stalls, ATMs Few public toilets (few are locked and dimly lit)
Landscape
Large park on either side of Rajpath, proper pedestrian pathways
Central park in the Mostly centre of the site pedestrianized; Some sections of the pavement are broken.
Table 5. Analysis of Case study- Consumption spaces, Delhi (Source: Author)
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6.1.3.
Consumption spaces, Kolkata, India
Category of study User
Profession
background
Analysis The study notes that profession is also a significant factor among respondents. Although about 54 percent of women employed in NGSs only participate in leisure and chores with NCSs (New Consumption Spaces), only about 24 percent of those working in TS have done so, regardless of age.
Age
Around 46% of those working in NGSs who only visited NCSs were over 41 years of age, while only about 17% of those working in TS who visited NCSs were over 41 years of age. On the other hand, about 54% of the younger respondents (<30 years) working in NGSs and only about 35% of those working in the TS are regularly associated with NCSs.
Context
During colonial rule, the division of Indian space into public and private was exacerbated and postcolonial urban public space in India (also in Kolkata) became an ongoing competition between 'civil society'-an elite public domain that serves the bourgeois collective interest in promoting the colonial legacy-and' democratic society 'developed around the framework of modern political association. Civil society, which has increasingly been marginalised from the public domain, first by European rulers and, subsequently, by political society in post-independent India, is now attempting to regain its control over the urban public
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
sphere through urban regeneration and gentrification programmes, which often involve the creation of new enclaves and rustic consumption spaces (Paul, 2017). Dynamics of
Usage hours
These areas are overwhelmingly populated during the day by groups of young people, as well as old ladies,
time
often with male friends, only hanging out and enjoying Social
Usage hours
their spare time. But women claim the nights at
influence
and social
consumption spaces almost exclusively with families
constraints
(see Illustrations 3, 4), contrary to the occupancy patterns at daytime (see Illustrations 1,2).
No. and gender of accompanier (s) Other users
Participant observation in the stores within shopping
of space
malls indicates that these places are mostly frequented by women in comparison to roadside open tea stalls (see Illustration 5) which are exclusively
Safety
Other users
occupied by men.
of space Perception
NCSs do provide a new setting for social interaction
of safety
for shaping lifestyles and needs for consumption, a space for the youth and the new professionals, but they operate as rather private spaces, by being surveilled and regulated by socially accepted codes of behaviour. As discussed in the section ‘Dynamics with time’, inclusivity, access, and safety are Page | 55
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
dynamically produced through space and are not equally inclusive at all times. NCSs are deemed by most respondents to be safe to hang out even alone, as they are normally placed in safe areas and frequented by advanced society and so-called bhadrolok or civil crowds. Participant observation in the department stores further shows that these sites are mostly frequented by women. Built-
Visibility
environment
Participant observation in the stores within shopping malls indicates that NCSs are mostly frequented by
Openness
women in comparison to roadside open tea stalls (see Illustration 5) which are exclusively occupied by men.
Physical
In the study, more than 65% of women suggested that
infrastructure NCSs are convenient because all items of use are under one roof and therefore safe. Consequently, these specialty shops give them a convenient and healthier environment compared to the dusty and chaotic markets, as well as making repetitive tasks a liberating leisure experience, albeit at the cost of rising their burden of doing domestic chores. Table 6. Analysis of Case study- Consumption spaces, Kolkata (Source: Author)
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Illustration 1. Women engaged in leisurely chat in the shopping malls during the day (Paul, 2017).
Illustration 2. Women engaged in leisurely chat in the shopping malls during the day (Paul, 2017).
Illustration 3. Leisure in the shopping mall with the family in the evening (Paul, 2017)
Illustration 4. Leisure in the shopping mall with the family in the evening (Paul, 2017)
Illustration 5. Roadside tea stalls exclusively occupied by men (Paul, 2017)
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6.2.
Primary survey study 6.2.1.
Context
Figure 10. Major regions (Source: Author)
Major regions of study: 1. Kochi, Kerala 2. Delhi NCR 3. Trivandrum, Kerala The respondents of the survey majorly reside in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities of India. From the survey data, not much disparity in purchasing power was observed between women consumers at local markets/streets and NCSs. 46.1% of women at local markets/streets and 52.5% women at NCSs spent less than Rs. 5000/month. But in comparison, 58.4% of men spent less than Rs.5000/month at local markets/streets, and 37% at NCSs. Men tend to spend more at NCSs than local markets/streets, while women’s expenditure is similar in both cases.
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6.2.2.
Accessibility
Connectivity to the public transport system: Lack of safety and security in public transport affects women‘s human rights and their ability to participate equally in the city. From the survey, it was observed that women are more dependent on the public transport system than men. Only 17.3% of men used the public transport system to commute to consumption spaces, while double of that, 35.3%, women relied on public transport. It also affects the time of usage of consumption spaces (mostly by women) because 64.37% of women align their time of return to the public transport timings. It should be noted that 48.39% of these women shop alone.
Figure 11. Mode of transportation - Men (Source: Author)
Figure 12. Mode of transportation -Women (Source: Author)
Out of the 79.3% of women who admitted to avoiding certain consumption spaces because of their gender, 42.03% chose unavailability of reliable transport options as one of the reasons. A right to everyday life which is built up from ordinary practices and experiences of life seem to be harder for women to achieve than men. 6.2.3.
Social influence
Out of the 86 women surveyed across classes, occupations and places of residences, 79.3% of women reported to avoid certain parts of consumption spaces because of their gender. 15.94% of them chose social constraints as the reason for the same. Women avoided crowded (35.63%), isolated (57.47%), unhygienic (48.28%) spaces more than men. When 35.63% women and 20.75% men avoided crowded Page | 59
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spaces, a contrast was seen in the case of isolated spaces. Only 9.43% of men would avoid isolated spaces was reported to be the biggest contributor to why women avoid spaces due to gender (57.47% women said they would avoid isolated spaces). It is to be noted that, comparatively, women felt safer in crowded places than in isolated places. Most women in this study perceived NCSs as secure for hanging out, even alone, in comparison to local markets/streets. 48.33% of women shop alone at NCSs, whereas only 37.04% of women shop alone at local markets/streets. This difference was not seen in the case of men, who shopped alone both at local markets/streets and NCSs around 50% of the time. This does not mean NCSs remain accessible to women all throughout the day. In 74.71% cases, time of nightfall determines the usage hours of women, even in case of NCSs. 6.2.4.
Dynamics with time
In the survey, respondents were asked to indicate the factors influencing their time of return on a five-point Likert scale (5 – most influential, and 1 –least influential). No restriction
Hostel/Home curfew
Night fall
Public transport
Others
Unmarried women
2.87
2.95
3.12
2.59
0.29
Married women
3.54
0.89
2.74
1.81
0.41
Women
3.04
2.28
3.02
2.32
0.32
Unmarried men
3.37
1.03
2.00
1.59
0.03
Married men
3.74
1.31
2.62
1.92
0.54
Men
3.47
1.10
2.15
1.67
0.15
Table 7. Average values of influencing factors- Time of return (Source: Author)
It was observed that the most influential factor of women’s usage hours remains nightfall. Even though work/class hours and weather influence the usage hours of both men and women almost equally (men- 61.54%, 38.46% respectively; women- 67.82%, 39.08% respectively), it should be noted that only 1 woman who was generally accompanied by husband/male partner and son shopped (generally) at night. In Page | 60
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comparison, all 13.5% of the men who responded to shopping at night were alone. Men, especially married men enjoy the freedom of not being restricted by other social factors. ‘No restrictions’ scored the highest (average point of 3.47). Unmarried women were the group most restricted by all the factors, Hostel/home curfew, Nightfall, and timings of public transport. Although the sample thus drawn is not a representative one, it does offer valuable insight into perceptions and leisure behaviour. As seen in the table below, out of the 79.3% of women who reported to avoid certain parts of consumption spaces because of their gender (41.51% of men in comparison), 37.68% found lack of proper lighting as a reason for the same. It is to be noted that this was only 13.64% in case of men, the least chosen option.
Figure 13. Responses for spatial accessibility by specific gender (Source: Author)
6.2.5.
Safety
In the survey, respondents were asked to indicate the factors influencing their choice of consumption space on a ten-point Likert scale (10 – most influential, and 1 –least influential). See Figure 12 for average values of the responses. Page | 61
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Figure 14. Average values of influencing factors (Source: Author)
The study found that perceived safety was the most influential factor while choosing a consumption space for women. On a scale of 1 to 10, average point women gave for perception of safety was 7.24, while it remained 5.63 in case of men (after location, variety of stores and affordability). New Consumption Spaces (NCSs), especially shopping malls, have developed the profile of being ‘safe’ hanging out locations (Paul, 2017). In comparison to local markets/streets, women felt safer in shopping malls and department stores. While men in both local markets and new consumption spaces never faced harassment 83.3%, 88.9% of the times respectively, and never perceived judgement 66.7%, 55.6% of the times respectively, there is a disparity between women’s experienced safety in these places. Even though only a small fraction of women (15.3% in case of local markets/streets, 6.8% in case of NCSs) agreed that the shopping spaces they visit were not safe and comfortable for women, 46.2% of women surveyed in local markets/streets, and 30.5% of women surveyed in NCSs have faced harassment at some point. Perceived safety and experienced safety for women remains better (still a worrisome figure) in case of shopping malls and department stores in comparison to local markets/streets. Page | 62
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As discussed earlier, out of the 86 women surveyed across classes, occupations and places of residences, 79.3% of women reported to avoid certain parts of consumption spaces because of their gender. This is 81.48% in cases of local markets/streets and 78.33% in cases of NCSs. 6.2.6.
Built-environment
● Presence of amenities (washrooms, feeding rooms, ATMs, food joints etc.), mixed variety of stores influenced women’s choice of consumption space more than men’s (See Figure 11). Parking facilities influenced men’s choice more than women’s, this is not surprising as men were said to use private vehicles more frequently than women (See Figure 12). ● Physical infrastructure- Lighting, benches, pathways (walkability)- The influence of physical infrastructure on women’s experience of consumption spaces can be inferred from the section below, where women’s choice of consumption space while they’re alone and with family is analyzed. It was found that the state of physical infrastructure had more impact on women’s experience than men’s. Figure 11 reiterates this result. ● Openness, visual connectivity- It was observed that women avoided crowded (35.63%), isolated (57.47%), unhygienic (48.28%) spaces more than men. When 35.63% women and 20.75% men avoided crowded spaces, a contrast was seen in the case of isolated spaces. Only 9.43% of men would avoid isolated spaces was reported to be the biggest contributor to why women avoid spaces due to gender (57.47% women said they would avoid isolated spaces). It is to be noted that, comparatively, women felt safer in crowded places than in isolated places. This was reinforced by the responses in the section below. ● To analyze the influence of built-environment and social factors on the experience of users of urban consumption space, respondents were asked to choose the most preferred option for a small snack/beverage in two situations(1) when they are alone, (2) when they are with family/group of friends.
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Situation 1- most preferred option for a small snack/beverage when they are alone:
Figure 15. Response for Situation 1 (Source: Author)
Option
Illustration 6. Option 1 (Source: MATT WICKS / GREATDISTANCES)
Social/Spatial attributes
Response
Response
A typical roadside tea-stall almost exclusively occupied by men, with only one foreigner woman in the scene. Not crowded.
Least preferred by women (9.2%) and most preferred by men (50%). The overall atmosphere (57.69%), and price range (42.31%) were the reasons for this choice.
Figure 16. Respondents of option 1 (Source: Author)
Proper seating facilities.
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Open and visually connected to the street. Economically viable. A crowded food stall dominated by men in a busy market street.
Illustration 7. Option 2 (Source: Chandradeep Kumar)
Lacks proper seating facilities and a space of its own.
Least preferred option by both men (7.7%) and women (5.7%).
Open and visually connected to the street.
Figure 17. Respondents of option 2 (Source: Author)
Economically viable. Coffee shop with an upscale appearance and enclosed ambience, dominated by women users. Illustration 8. Option 3 (Source: Sanjit Das/Bloomberg)
Proper seating facilities. Enclosed space but has visibility within the space
and the reasons stated were mostly the overall atmosphere and the types of users.
Figure 18. Respondents of option 3 (Source: Author)
Hygienic and well-maintained Most expensive option
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Most preferred option by women (48.3%) and Proper seating their reason Figure 19. facilities. being, the Respondents of option 4 overall Most enclosed option atmosphere (Source: Author) but has visibility (54.76%), within the space hygiene of space Hygienic and (28.57%), well-maintained type of users More expensive than (14.29%) and price range options 1 and 2, but (2.38%). But, less than option 3 only 23.6% men chose this option. A crowded food chain outlet which was used by users of all genders
Illustration 9. Option 4 (Source: David Gee / Alamy Stock Photo)
Table 8. Analysis situation 1 (Source: Author)
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Situation 2- most preferred option for a small snack/beverage when they are with family/group of friends:
Figure 20. Response for Situation 2 (Source: Author)
Option
Illustration 10. Option 1 (Source: Economy Decoded/ED Times)
Social/Spatial attributes
Response
A crowded food joint with multiple stores, accessed by men, women and children.
Least preferred after option 2. But 15.12% of women chose this in comparison to 5.77% men. Among these, most women chose this due to price range.
Lacks proper seating facilities
Open and visually connected to the street.
Composition of preferred
Figure 21. Respondents of option 1 (Source: Author)
Economically viable. Page | 67
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
An open street food joint dominated by men. Lacks proper seating facilities and a space of its own. Illustration 11. Option 2 (Source: FoodFunia)
Open and visually connected to the street. Economically viable.
Food court in a shopping mall used by upper-middle class users of all genders Proper seating facilities. Illustration 12. Option 3 (Source: Greg Balfour Evans / Alamy)
Enclosed space but has visibility within the space Hygienic and well-maintained
Least preferred option by all. More women (5.81%) chose this in comparison to men (1.92%). Reasons stated were price range and overall atmosphere. Most preferred by both men (50%) and women (28.26%). Hygiene of space and overall atmosphere influenced this choice in both genders.
Figure 22. Respondents of option 2 (Source: Author)
Figure 23. Respondents of option 3 (Source: Author)
Most expensive option A crowded restaurant which is used by users of all genders Proper seating facilities. Illustration 13. Option 4 (Source:Hk Rajashekar/The The India Today Group)
Enclosed but has visibility within the space
Both men (21.01%) and women (42.31%)pref erred this almost as Figure 24. much as Respondents of option 3. All 4 option 4 factors- type (Source: Author) of users, hygiene of space, Page | 68
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
Hygienic and well-maintained More expensive than options 1 and 2, but less than option 3
overall atmosphere, price range influenced this choice.
Table 9. Analysis situation 2 (Source: Author)
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7.
FINDINGS 7.1.
Case studies 7.1.1.
Case study- Consumption spaces of Mumbai (2003-2006)
Accessing public space even in a ‘safe city’ like Mumbai means a subtle dance around multiple defined and undefined borders and boundaries. In this case study, visibility was found to be the most important factor for women’s spatial accessibility and comfort. In figure . and figure ., the positive factors have been marked● Visibility- Presence of hawkers ● Visibility- Presence of residences ● Visibility and openness- Public park ● Amenities- Presence of grocery shops, chemists, vegetable shops, bus stop The study found that the following added to further exclusion of women from public space, ● Lack of visibility and openness- Dead, dingy spaces ● Social factors: For cases like wine shops, paan shops and bars, there were no physical barriers- they were in open areas, visually connected to the street. But, women avoided these spaces because of the social restrictions imposed on them by themself and society. Same applies for why women were not found loitering and resting in public.
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Figure 25. Factors of inclusion (Base drawing by (Ranade, 2007))
Figure 26. Factors of exclusion (Base drawing by (Ranade, 2007))
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Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
Figure 27.Tracing women’s path- positive factors (Base drawing by (Ranade, 2007))
7.1.2.
Figure 28.Tracing women’s path- negative factors (Base drawing by (Ranade, 2007))
Case study- Consumption spaces of Delhi (2007)
In a comparative analysis of Nehru Place, Connaught Place and India Gate, it was observed that the nightfall affected women’s spatial accessibility in all three cases. Even though comparatively more women were found after dark at India Gate than Connaught Place and Nehru Place, it should be noted that they were mostly accompanied by men. But, the presence of police and security personnels, well-lit open spaces with visual connection to surroundings, amenities, physical infrastructure favoured gender inclusion in all three areas. Open spaces with adequate visibility and direct vision reduce blind corners and boost women's feelings of safety. Women recorded having said that there is a feeling of Page | 72
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security rather than in an isolated location when they know that they can be seen. For the same reason, vendors often play an important role in improving visibility in public spaces by being 'eyes on the street'. 7.1.3.
Case study- Consumption spaces of Kolkata (2017)
The most recent case study of Kolkata focused on NCSs (New locations for sales, such as shopping centres and department stores) in comparison to the market streets in earlier studies. In the last decade, the newly opened malls and department stores also approximate a ‘new’ private space for the middle and upper class woman. It is true that NCSs give women new freedoms to stroll around the area, to discover new incursions by items and individuals that were culturally odd on their native grounds. But even within NCSs, women's accessibility continues to operate within specific socio-cultural encodings. NCSs also prefer affluent, more mobile, demographic portions that dominate new or gentrified areas. Such identities focused on consumption unite individuals with different purchasing powers in search of common patterns of consumption; on the other hand, they establish social distances between people with different lifestyles belonging to the same class positions. In such a scenario, consumption becomes an instrument for differentiating certain divisions of the new middle class with the cultural capital required.
7.2.
Primary survey study
A right to everyday life which is built up from ordinary practices and experiences of life seem to be harder for women to achieve than men. ● Connectivity to the public transport system: Lack of safety and security in public transport affects women‘s human rights and their ability to participate equally in the city. From the survey, it was observed that women are more dependent on the public transport system than men. ● Visibility and openness/Social influences: While space may be physically accessible and may not have distinct barriers for women, it is still not open to them socially or psychologically (Desai, 2007). Even though the responses
indicate that women generally avoided crowded, isolated and unhygienic spaces Page | 73
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
more than men, It is to be noted that, comparatively, women felt safer in crowded places than in isolated places. ● Drastic shift in usage with dynamics of time: Women’s accessibility of urban consumption spaces are still restricted by nightfall. As observed in the case studies, the lack of lighting and maintenance leads to dead and dingy spaces, unsafe for (especially) women. These, with the existing moral encodings of society, sadly, the attempts to restore women's nights remain a far-cry. To quote Phadke, Khan, and Ranade (Phadke et al., 2011, p. 145), ‘the temporal
boundaries of day and night are imposed as rigidly as those of private-public and are irrevocably linked to the duality of being respectable-unrespectable’.
● Fear of conceivable violence shapes women’s ability to utilize public spaces, defines their comfort levels, and compromises their sense of freedom and inclusion within the city (Viswanath & Basu, 2015). The study found that perceived safety was the most influential factor while choosing a consumption space for women. ● NCSs vs informal markets: Perceived safety and experienced safety for women remains better (still a worrisome figure) in case of shopping malls and department stores in comparison to local markets/streets. The presence of CCTV cameras and security personnels in NCSs might have influenced their perception and experience of safety. NCSs generally have well maintained, well-lit spaces with amenities such as public toilets, feeding rooms etc. Even so, NCSs operate within the entrenched moral encodings of society. ● Other factors: Age and marital status were found to be important factors in determining spatial accessibility. Unmarried women were found to have least accessibility and married men enjoy the most of urban consumption spaces. While accessing urban consumption spaces, women were more ‘free’ to choose options with less visibility, openness, physical infrastructure etc. (factors of exclusion) if they are in groups or accompanied by family. A similar trend was seen when men’s choices while accessing with family/group of friends vs when they visit alone. All of these pinpoint the fact that women’s access to urban consumption spaces remains restricted. Page | 74
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7.3.
Drawing parallels from studies
The studies reiterated space and social structure are not mutually exclusive, rather has a dialectical, interactive relationship. Different bodies experience space differently depending on, amongst many other things, their gender, class, caste, age, sexuality, physical ability because access to space is socio-culturally determined by these differences (Desai, 2007; Ranade, 2007). In illustrating the gender-space relations in
the consumption spaces of the city, some key points of the study reiterated that women have lesser spatial accessibility at all times of the day than men, but this is heightened after nightfall. Comparing the results of primary study with the case studies done at different points of time in tier 1 cities of India indicate that, NCSs have improved women’s accessibility to urban consumption spaces, but they operate within the moral encodings of society.
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8.
CONCLUSIONS 8.1.
Spatial accessibility in consumption spaces
A true public space is when it allows the people inhabiting it to occupy it and do nothing regardless of their gender or class. People should be able to exercise their right to the city; their rights include the freedom to move freely, facilities should be available to all, right to safety and free from fear of violence. Unfortunately, women face direct and indirect constraints in terms of spatial accessibility in the use of the built environment. From the literature review, it was established that spaces of consumption has been associated with ‘femininity’ and spaces of consumption are dominated by women. But, the case studies and survey revealed that even within consumption spaces, women’s accessibility operates within the strict moral encodings of the society. The ambiguous denial of public space to women at tea and paan shops and usage hours dependent on nightfall even in modern cities reflect the patriarchal values in built spaces constructed in society.
8.2.
Answering the research question:
How are gender relations manifest in urban consumption spaces? Urban consumption areas demonstrated visibly gendered use trends in all 4 instances-ambiguous denial of public space to women in tea and paan shops, local markets with visibly absent women in automotive, alcohol, electrical or machine shops, etc. regions. Even within NCSs, women's accessibility continues to be related to variables that perpetuate gender inequalities in society, such as domestic work and care roles, the generated labour market, household gender relations, and public/private and unsafe/safe dichotomies. It may also be claimed that while middle and upper class women are 'permitted' to enjoy restricted leisure within NCSs, they have not been assigned greater freedom of choice by the 'protection' of these spaces.
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8.3.
Answering the research question:
How are spatial relations manifest in the idea of gender? The spatial and architectural structures in a gendered space that control and reduce the access of women to certain spaces that contribute to the development of influence and power(Desai, 2007). Through the analysis of case studies, the spatial attributes which result in inclusion and exclusion of women from urban consumption spaces were studied. Exclusion of women: ● Where other consumers of space are occupied by homogeneous communities of men, physical mobility for women is adversely affected, even when there is visibility and transparency (cigarette stores, dhabas, taxi stands, some street corners, helmet stands in car parks, liquor shops, and some particular parks). Women not only refuse to use all of these rooms, but, for fear of violence, they also stop going near them. ● Amenities- It was found that the toilets for women were seldom due to poor physical conditions and close proximity to men's toilets. Illustration 14 shows a poorly designed public toilet located on the walk path which is also encroached by vendors. The location of toilet makes pedestrians especially women uncomfortable.
Illustration 14. Poorly designed Toilet blocks at Delhi, India (Viswanath et al., 2015). Page | 77
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
● Isolated spaces- It was observed that women felt safer in crowded places than in isolated places. ● Poor walkability- A typical sight in Delhi, broken or dug up pavements, has emerged as another big risk factor, reducing the routes women can take when travelling around and making it difficult if not impossible to get away from a harasser quickly. The lack of pavement causes them to walk on the road in many places, dealing not only with fast moving traffic, but also resisting men on two wheelers and trucks who physically threaten her or even touch her and kick her. ● Poorly lit spaces- Most women felt unsafe going into public spaces alone or after dark unless they were in groups or accompanied by men. The lack of street lighting in commercial areas emerged as a major impediment to women's ability to work late. For eg. they mostly perceived car parks with dark corners/entrances/sections were perceived as unsafe. Usually attendants are present only at the entry/exit points of these spaces.
Illustration 15. At night, the dark and deserted spaces are rendered unsafe for an unaccompanied woman (Bhasu, 2017).
Inclusion of women: ● Women have less access to private or own transport and hence tend to depend largely upon public transport. Accessibility to the site through public transport systems can be advantageous in gender inclusion. Page | 78
Gender inclusion in urban consumption spaces
● It was found that in contrast to the pattern in formal commercial areas, more unaccompanied women had accessibility to the streets even after dark in areas where vendors, especially those selling vegetables, fruits, and other items of household needs, were present in large numbers. ● The presence of security guards and police enhances women's feeling of safety. Guards were usually present in most office buildings, women's hostels, and public utilities such as ATMs. ● It was found that well-lit, open spaces which are visually connected to the surrounding environment enhance the perception of safety.
Illustration 16. Open public park which is occupied by many groups of women, with children (Bhasu, 2017).
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APPENDIX Appendix 1: Online survey- Gender and shopping spaces (in English)
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Appendix 2: Online survey- Gender and shopping spaces (in regional language)
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